Kushina's New Life
by AlexNameless
Summary: Kushina is reborn and given a second chance at life, but she's a squib with a dark lord after her. In which Sirius remains the secret keeper and she's orphaned several years later. She remembers the family she lost and goes to the Dursleys, and Hogwarts, knowing what's at stake. Even if nobody's told her about the prophecy yet. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

On July 31st, 1990, amidst the explosions and flames of battle outside the ancient Potter Manor, Lily and James Potter proudly welcomed a baby girl into the world. Their firstborn child.

"It's a girl! Congratulations, Mrs. Potter, Lord Potter!" the midwife exclaimed, handing her the baby all wrapped up in the blanket they'd given her. Lily had been so certain it would be a boy that her mother had already sent along a pastel green blanket with their family name, Potter, stitched into it in emerald green script.

"Thank you, Miss Doula." Lily replied, gazing into the bright blue eyes of her baby girl, completely enraptured with her. She had her very same red hair and pale skin as her and James' knobbly knees and nose.

With the wave of her wand, and a swish and a flick, Ms. Doula summoned a birth certificate with the date, time, and parents' names already on it. "I'm terribly sorry, but we've got to hurry. There's no telling how long the wards will hold. What would you like to name her, Lord Potter?"

It was traditionally the father who named his children, but James' spared a look at his wife. "Its up to you, dear. Harry James was my choice."

Lily took a moment to think. As much as she wanted to honor her grandmother, murdered not months ago by Voldemort looking for them, she wasn't sure Dahlia was a good fit and it was terribly old fashioned. She would be teased for sure. What about Harriet? But she couldn't imagine calling her daughter Harry for short or subjecting her to being called Harry by other kids, either.

"What about Henrietta Dahlia? For your grandfather, and my grandmother." It was traditional for a boy's name to be to honor people and set him up for success, and a girl's name to be pretty and flow well, but they weren't a traditional family either – a pureblood and a mudblood.

James beamed. "I love it! Henrietta Dahlia Potter it is." Truly, he would have been happy with any name his wife suggested as long as it wasn't a death eater's name or something his grandmother could've been called.

"After the Wizengamot judge? Splendid choice." And so with another flick of the wand, it automatically penned the name on the birth certificate and signed it.

"Congratulations, Lord Potter, Mrs. Potter, on the birth of your baby girl. I will take my leave now," Ms. Doula said, waving her wand and directing all of the medical equipment to pack itself up. "Your house elf should be able to take care of everything else."

James nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. Good day." He moved to his wife and daughter's side and summoned a red blanket with lions prancing around on it to wrap Etta up in. It was dreadfully cold in here. They had avoided lighting a fire in the fireplace so as not to give away their location to the death eaters trying to break in outside.

However, when Ms. Doula went to apparate out and back to St. Mungos, it didn't work. "Huh?"

Surprised and a tad flustered, she tried again. "St. Mungos!" But it didn't work.

James turned around, mildly alarmed. "You can't get out?"

"No, my Lord, I can't. Can I borrow your floo?" She was becoming increasingly frantic, losing the forced professional voice she'd had all throughout the labor and naming. No one wanted to die.

James shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we had it locked down several months ago when we got the news we would be targeted. Just in case. Don't worry, I'll get us all out of here."

He looked back at his wife and daughter, filled with a paternal sense of love and responsibility he was only just getting used to. Everything changed when you became a parent. It wasn't all about you or even you and the love of your life anymore.

"Ms. Doula, get the guards in here." He ordered, his voice stern and every bit acting the head of house Potter that he was. "Holly!"

With a pop, a bony little house elf in a yellowed pillowcase appeared. "Yes? How can Holly be helping?"

Ms. Doula ran to the locked and warded door and banged on it. "Guards, guards! Come in, quickly! Quickly!"

Not a moment later, two aurors rushed in. "What's the matter? Is the missus and the baby alright?" asked the older one, while the younger one relocked and rewarded the door. The wards hadn't gone off so nobody had broken in.

"What's it look like outside?" James asked, demandingly.

"They've breached the front door and are currently fighting to get up the heavily guarded grand staircase."

"Damnit." James cursed. "They've set up anti-apparition wards, so we can't get out. Now that Henrietta's been born, we've got to move. Its not safe here. They're too close."

Holly approached him, wringing hands nervously. "Holly can help, Master James."

"Yes, of course. That's why I called you. We'll just have to be quicker than I wanted. No time to pack everything up." Everything of vital importance to the family's history had already been sent to their Gringotts vault just in case.

"There's no telling if the Order is safe or not, if this place has already been breached. I don't want to apparate us into the middle of a battle. What about the Weasleys? Molly and Arthur. They won't like it but they would never turn us away."

"Lily, I want you and Henrietta to go with Holly first." He said, turning to his wife and daughter. "Then me and Ms. Doula will follow, and finally the guards. Is that alright, Holly?"

He turned to the elf and it nodded its head furiously. "Yes of course, Holly will do it! Anything for the Potters." She had served the family well for decades.

Lily sat up and made to stand, supported by her husband, cradling her baby in her arms. "James, hand me my purse and Crookshanks." She asked. She was exhausted, but she couldn't leave Harry's things behind or the family cat. She would never forgive herself if the cat was left to die. He had been her graduation present.

James huffed in frustration, wanting them to leave quickly, but retrieved her things anyways. "Ready now, dear?"

Within five minutes the entire family, the midwife, and the guards were all safely at the Burrow. They were decidedly uninvolved, citing their many young children at home. Arthur worked around the clock to feed them all.

Author's Note: Finally, a someone else is Harry fic that isn't Shisui. This is a combination of several little plot ideas I've had but didn't want to do because I thought they would be too boring to write. But I figure Kushina and squib and female and older when orphaned Harry might hold my attention. And hopefully a few readers? Plus making Harry a fuinjutsu expert leaves the opportunity for an alternative ending and solution to the original that simply using Shisui doesn't.

Lemme know what you want to see! Like, her future house, how the Dursleys should treat her, etc. I'm open to suggestions. Especially not canon ones. Cannon gets boring quickly, but on the other hand I'm not confident enough that I can write well enough to make up my own new timeline.

I apologize in advance but there will be several set up chapters like this, because Henrietta will not be orphaned until she's a preschooler. They'll all be short though. This is short, to me.


	2. Chapter 2 - Snuffles

Chapter 2 - Snuffles

Not but a few hours later, they were crowded into the Weasley's dining room and the Weasleys themselves were kicked out of it and the door itself heavily warded so Albus could have a private meeting with them. Albus Dumbledore, James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, her husband Alfred, and husband's brother Algie Longbottom, and the two babies Henrietta and Neville. Etta fussed quietly at being woken up, and Lily soothed her, rocking her in her arms.

"I'm glad to see you all here. James, Frank, I thank you for only bringing up to three of your closest confidants, each." Dumbledore said, and everyone hushed at once to listen.

"I must ask that you all tell no one about this second Order meeting. I am sending the Potters and the Longbottoms into hiding, with the Fidelius Charm. Your confidants will be the only people who know of your whereabouts. The others will all be told one of several lies. Hopefully, this will weed out the traitor in our midst." Albus paused and took a drink from a goblet.

"You will chose from among your confidants who will be your Secret Keeper. The location where you will be hiding is your secret, and the Keeper of that secret cannot be tortured into giving out the information. It is impossible. He can only give up the location willingly – magic will ensure this. It cannot be tortured or veritasum'd out of you. To anyone else, it will be like a muggle walking passed the Leaky Cauldron – they will have no idea you're there, right under their noses. You will be safe this way."

A moment's pause to digest the information. "I don't wish to sound arrogant, but I suggest that you both choose me as your secret keeper. I am the only wizard that Tom has ever feared."

James shook his head, not giving Lily a chance to speak up. "I'm sorry, Dumbledore, but I can't do it. It would be an insult not to trust my friends, after everything we've been through together."

Lily looked disappointed beside him, but didn't speak up. She was too focused on soothing Henrietta back to sleep. Besides, she couldn't help but admit that James' friends had been nothing but loyal, and the only person she trusted the most was also going into hiding. Her friend, Alice, her choice for Henrietta's godmother.

Albus nodded. "Yes, of course, my boy. Now, I will give you a few minutes to choose your secret keeper – choose wisely. Then, I will perform the spell. Afterwards, your secret keeper must tell your other confidants where you are staying. Then, they may visit you and provide updates and provisions as is necessary. Does everyone understand?"

Frank and Alice spoke with Augusta, Alfred, and Algie for several long moments before Frank walked forward and spoke up with their decision. "Alright, Dumbledore. We'll take you as our secret keeper."

The Potters and the marauders all talked amongst themselves after that. They needed to decide their secret keeper.

"I'll do it!" Sirius exclaimed confidently from Remus' side. "I'll be the secret keeper."

Remus looked at him, afraid. "But Sirius, everyone will suspect you! You're going to be everyone's first guess. You and James have been friends since you got sorted."

Peter, the shortest in the group, doesn't say anything, but his silence is normal. He just looks around at everyone, looking more anxious than normal.

"I knew you'd have my back, Sirius." James said, smiling proudly at his best friend.

Lily didn't look satisfied, though. "James, he's Etta's godfather. Isn't it a bit obvious?"

But James wasn't swayed. "It'll be fine! He's great at dueling. And besides, I trust him with my life."

Finally, as if an afterthought, Lily turned to Peter, the shortest and quietest one in the group. "What do you think, Peter?"

He kept his gaze to the floor, refusing to look any of them in the eye. "Well, well I think it is a bit obvious. You're right, Lily. Always are. Honestly, I feel guilty. I can never do anything to help."

Sirius just laughed at him. "That's cause you never try."

Remus elbowed him in the ribs sharply, silencing him. "You will be a lot of help, Peter. I'll be away a lot of the time spying on the werewolves and trying to win some of them to our side, so we'll need someone to bring them news and groceries. Right, James?"

James nodded. "Yeah, he's right. You're one of us, Peter – a marauder. Always will be."

Peter smiled a grim, sad smile up at them.

Several months later, they were back at square one, in the living room of their still new two-story house in Godric's Hollow, talking about the fidelus charm. Well, technically it was Remus' house. His name was on all the paperwork. James and Sirius had been cornered by a trio of death eaters while out on Order business. They were pursued on Sirius' motorbike through the city streets by the death eaters on broomsticks until finally the muggle cops came after them for speeding. They levitated the car and flipped it over onto the death eaters so they could make their escape back home.

"I don't think I can do this, guys." Sirius said, leaning his head back and turning his gaze to the ceiling. "What if I had gotten James killed tonight? You were right, Lily."

"This was a stupid idea. I'm too obvious. What if they had captured me tonight? What happens if the secret keeper dies?" He looked around the room at James, Lily, and Peter, but no one had an answer for him. It only made him even more frustrated. "Its obvious they're coming after me for information. I mean who wouldn't?"

James nodded, his expression grim. "And we know they have a spy in the Order, cause we got attacked on the day Henrietta was born. We were lucky we had Holly to get us out of that one."

"But we had to let her go in order to get the house." Lily said. "If something happens, we won't have her to save us."

It had been a very intense, back and forth argument. Either pay for the house all at once with a huge chunk of the Potter fortune, cutting into Etta's trust fund, or pay for it with Holly. In the end, they paid for the house with Holly after giving ownership of her to Remus to then sell in exchange for the house.

"We'll be fine, Lily. We're safe." James reassured. "Sirius is my brother in all but blood."

Sirius hit the couch in frustration. "But we're not safe, James! They knew right where we were, they didn't even have to look around for us! Some traitor is still feeding them information! And nobody knows what happens if I get killed. For all we know, the moment I die your house is visible to everyone and you'll all get killed!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Sirius spoke up again. "Our best bet right now is to switch secret keepers. Don't tell anyone, though. No one can be trusted. Just don't change our habits at all, and they'll keep thinking its me and come after me."

"But Sirius, how do we even change secret keepers?" Lily asked. "Wouldn't we have to get Albus to redo the charm?"

They had been told very little about how the charm worked and rushed into hiding.

James gave a frustrated sigh. "She's right. I don't know how to change the secret keeper anyways."

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, thinking, until Lily spoke up. "Wait, Sirius." She exclaimed, excited about something. "You're an unregistered animagus. Why not use that to our advantage? You can hide here with us as our pet dog. That way we don't have to change secret keepers."

Sirius grinned at her. "That's a great idea! And we can spread around misinformation and make all the death eaters think I fled the country or something like that. As long as I'm here, no one can capture me and I won't get you all murdered in your beds at night."

Sirius spoke in a deceptively lighthearted tone, trying to make light of his greatest fear. Not everyday your best friend's family's lives rest entirely on you're shoulders. They were all barely out of their teens fighting a war.

From there on, Sirius was simply the Potter's pet dog, Snuffles. Or, according to the neighbors, it was Remus Lupin's pet dog Snuffles.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I got the idea for the plot twist because I figure it's a huge oversight to allow the person they bought the house from to have memories of seeing them and selling the house to them. I'm going with the idea that they've got to consider the outlandish possibility of everyone in Godric's Hollow being individually targeted and interrogated for their location. Because honestly Godric's Hollow seems like it would be pretty obvious to me. Why didn't they just flee the country? Oh well.

Important note but I am working under the assumption that it is the HOUSE that is protected. Not the Potters themselves. The boundaries of the house and it's wards are all safe from view and impenetrable like Grimmauld's Place, but people could literally sit outside waiting in ambush and kill them if they wanted.


	3. Chapter 3 - Restless

Chapter 3 – Restless

Weeks became months, and months became years. As time went on, the Potters both noticed little oddities here and there about their beautiful red-haired, green-eyed three year old daughter. When she first began to talk, she spoke another language as well as English. Japanese, it turned out to be. She didn't pay it much mind once Albus' letter came back with Peter. More than likely, her daughter Henrietta was someone else's reincarnation. It left a pit in her stomach to think about, the idea that her daughter wasn't just her daughter, and it wasn't something she liked to think about.

It was concerning enough that she'd gotten through the terrible two's without a single demonstration of accidental magic! That's when most parents found out their children were indeed magical. Lily spent her days cooped up inside the boundaries of the house and it is meager front and back yards, doing nothing but cleaning, cooking, and taking care of Etta and watching her play. She couldn't even take her daughter on a walk with Sirius as Snuffles! Because one, this was supposed to be Remus' house, and two because James thought it was entirely too dangerous. He'd become so overprotective it was suffocating. It was depressing, living here, and she hated it. No amount of sending letters to her sister Petunia or to Alice or Molly would help. She couldn't even send them by owl, she had to send them through Peter or Remus.

Today, Lily was sitting in a chair on the back porch with Snuffles laying at her feet, half-heartedly watching Henrietta play ninja with a leaf stuck to her head.

"Mummy, look!" Etta exclaimed, bouncing and waving her arms around to get her attention over the book she'd been not reading for the past 20 minutes. She'd read every book in the house ten times over.

"Yes, sweetheart?" She said, her voice indulging. Got to fake it for Etta. Anything for Etta. She didn't want her daughter picking up on her sadness and bitter frustration more than she had already.

Etta faced the round target board she'd gotten her to stick on the tree for her, picked up a butterknife, and threw it at the hardest to reach target board, hitting dead center. "I did it, mummy! I'm almost a kunoichi now, dattebane!"

"Oh wow! You really are." Etta grinned and kept at it. She had an entire target course made up in the backyard, at various heights, and threw both butterknives and rocks at them. She wanted the steak knives but Lily had drawn a much more reasonable line at the butterknives. She was getting better and better with each passing day.

She wasn't sure if that meant she was an awful mother for doing nothing but watching Etta play ninja all day or if it was just normal for a witch mum. Molly let her boys get into so much trouble.

Henrietta Potter, or rather Kushina Uzumaki, wasn't a naïve little kid. She understood more than her mother realized she did. Her parents and uncle's arguing woke her up often and she would sneak out and listen to them just out of view by the staircase. Her pet dog wasn't really a pet dog, and they were at war, and they were in hiding, and that was why they couldn't so much as go grocery shopping, ever. She had already lost two families – her mom and dad and siblings, and her husband and son. She wouldn't lose this one too! So, she trained as hard as she could with what she had available and what little chakra reserves she had in this body.

The wards chimed. "Uncle Remus!" She stopped what she was doing at once and ran back inside to greet him, followed closely by Snuffles and her mum.

"I'm home!" Uncle Remus called into the home.

She ran at him and jumped in his arms, beaming. "Uncle Remus! Okaeri!"

Uncle Remus smiled warmly at her. "Hello, Henrietta. Were you a good girl while I was at work?"

They had decided it would be good for the neighbors to regularly see Remus going to and from the house and holding a job, to keep up the ruse that it belonged to him.

"Uh-huh! And guess what? I can hit all the targets now!" she exclaimed.

"Wow!" Uncle Remus said in an exaggerated impressed voice. Everyone thought her favorite game was a bit weird.

James came out of the bedroom to greet him, too. "Hi, Moony."

The atmosphere between her mom and dad was tense in the way that only an argument last night could make it.

"Hello, Prongs. I take it you still haven't decided on whether to sign her up for nursery school…?" His tone was hesitant, like he was afraid of potential disapproval.

Uncle Remus set her down and ushered her to go down the hall to her room. "Why don't you go play for a bit, Etta?"

"Kay!" she replied, bounding down the hall but keeping the door open so she could overhear their impending argument.

All the adults sat down for a spot of tea and biscuits, and Sirius got some dog treats and listened.

"I know, Moony. I just don't think we can risk it. Godric's Hollow is obvious. What if death eaters are already watching the village? Lily can teach her here just fine. Plus, she hasn't had her first bit of accidental magic yet and I don't want the attention that will bring. She won't be able to blend in if they all think she's a squib." James said.

"But that's just it, James!" Lily exclaimed. "People see what they want to see. No one's going to believe that any Potter would be a squib. It's to our advantage. They'll just take one look at her supposed father and nod to themselves and gossip about blood purity stereotypes and good breeding."

James huffed in frustration. "Why's it so important to you? I never went to nursery school. My mum taught me and what she wasn't good in, she got a tutor for. Between us both and Sirius and Remus and Peter, she'll be fine she won't even need tutors. She will get a good education. She will be ready for Hogwarts. There's no point risking her life like that."

Lily threw up her hands in exasperation. "And let our daughter grow up having to live in fear, too? I won't have it! It's bad enough that I can't ever leave. I couldn't even go to my mum and dad's funeral!" Tears stung in her eyes. "I won't let you make our daughter have to live here trapped in the house too. She's going to school, damnit. Or do you expect her to be homeschooled from Hogwarts, too?"

James opened his mouth only to close it again, mildly shocked. When he finally spoke, it was a reaching excuse. "Lils, I don't think the war's gonna last that long."

But Lily was adamant. "And if it does?"

James said nothing. Feeling like she'd finally one, for once, Lily waved her dishes to the sink the wash themselves and headed off to talk to her daughter.

Lily found her in her room at the little table, practicing writing the English alphabet and hiragana. It was something dull that she could do while she waited for the arguing to be done.

"Etta, sweetheart?" her mother sat beside her and gave her a pleased, but serious look. She put the crayons down to listen.

"Mummy and daddy and Uncle Remus just had a talk, and we've decided that you get to go to school. You'll get to go and have fun and make lots of friends! How's that sound?" Her mom sounded so excited for her. She thought her mom wished she could take her, but they both knew that wouldn't be an option.

"Really? I can?" she exclaimed happily, before giving her mum the biggest hug ever. "Thank you, mummy!"

Then, she got an idea. "I'll draw daddy a picture to say thank you! You can give it to him, okay?"

She hurriedly drew out a picture of her daddy and mommy holding her hands and playing in a field of flowers. "Don't be mad at daddy, okay mummy? Daddy just wants to protect us. So we'll all be safe and happy together, and not dead apart. Daddy loves you too!"

It hurt seeing her mum and dad fight all the time like this. She knew deep down, they still cared about each other. The situation was hard for everyone. She tried to act like an ideal daughter and make her parents smile and not be a picky eater or trouble them too much. And to not reminder her mum more than was necessary that she had another mom, a whole life, before her that she loved and missed, too. It made her sad and frustrated.

Her mum startled hearing her talk so casually about death. "O-okay. Thank you, Etta, I'll try."

She giggled, watching her mum's surprised reaction. "I love you too, mummy!"

Two weeks later, and she was all dressed up for preschool in her plain red robe with gold lining around the cuffs and the school crest stitched on the left breast. It had taken a long, long time for her mum to lather all the potions through her hair and the creams on her face and hands and arms. It was what these people did instead of a henge, making her look more like Uncle Remus. They dyed her ankle-length bright red hair to be light brown but let her keep her green eyes. Uncle Remus' eyes were green too. They made her skin to be a shade or two more tan, because otherwise she would be too pale.

When she was all done, her mum handed her a lunchbox and she tucked it in her bookbag.

Her dad knelt down and hugged her and gave her a kiss goodbye on the forehead. She giggled, grinning, cherishing their love and affection. How often had she marched out the door to the Uzusio Academy, stubborn and angry and ignoring her mom and little siblings' goodbye's and I love you's?

_I hope someone's there to give Naruto a hug and kiss, too. He'll be three in October. Sandaime-sama, I hope you're taking care of my baby boy. _

"Remember, when you're outside Remus is your papa, okay? Call him Papa. And your name outside will be Hope Lupin, okay? But only outside." Her father reminded her, for the umpteenth time this morning. "Tell it to me back."

She hugged Uncle Remus legs and smiled brilliantly up at him. "He's Papa and my name's Hope Lupin! Right?"

Her dad chuckled and smiled at her. "That's my girl. Now go make friends and learn something! I can't wait to hear all about your day."

She nodded. "Uh-huh! Mummy, I'll color you a picture at school, okay?" she exclaimed, tearing away from Remus to hug her mum. "Love you, mummy! Love you, daddy!"

Then, she grabbed Remus by the hand and started pulling him to the door. "Come on, Papa! We're gonna be late for school!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Is this too weird a concept? I'm trying to think from the most paranoid angle possible. Like, if any one of them got captured and their mind read, the average death eater would ideally only be able to find memories of Snuffles the dog, not Sirius Black the missing secret keeper.

Also, I kept 'dattebane' out because I didn't think people would like too much Japanese and because I figure it's an Uzumaki thing not a Potter thing. She's a Potter now.

Sorry if they're written quite poorly. I tried to run with the idea that they're probably not a happy couple after being cooped up in the house for three years.

Please review! Views are great to see, cause it means people are hopefully enjoying the story, but they don't tell me what's an awful plot device, for example. Thanks for reading!


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